Twilight Alchemist 15.1

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15.1. It's Surprising How Many Facts We Learn Afterward, Isn't It?

The actual existence of dragon habitats is still uncertain. 

Leafan, forgetting about that, focused on village construction, and for now, the discussion ended.

First and foremost, Leafan is tasked with prioritizing the construction of fences to enhance the village's defense.

The defense has been strengthened more than initially planned.

The reason is that in case of a large-scale movement of mysterious hydras or the like, the villagers should be able to handle it at worst.

After all, this settlement is in an area with a high occurrence rate of monsters.

One can never be too cautious.

That said, there's still work to be done.

"Shirura-san, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Craft called out to Shirura, a widow working hard on a small experimental farm within the village.

Her husband passed away early, and she seems to have been at a loss until this settlement opportunity came her way.

"Yes, what is it, Craft-san?"

Sweat clung to her skin, and her disheveled hair stuck slightly to her nape.

She had a mysterious allure about her.

"Um, if I recall correctly, Shirura-san, you wanted to run a shop, right?"

"Yes. I heard that in this pioneering village, the fees to the guild and the commercial guild are exempt."

"Oh, that's written in the documents we received from the commercial guild."

Ideally, people from the commercial guild should come, but they dumped it all on the production guild as a proxy. 

When they finally show up, I'll sell them rights at an exorbitant price.

"Do you have any specific preferences for the type of shop you want to run?"

"No, I'm still studying, so I think running a specialty store is impossible."

"How about running a general store, then?"

"A general store?"

"For now, sell daily necessities and expendable weapons."

"Eh? Aren't those distributed?"

"Oh, they are. But that'll end in a few years."

"Even if I start now, there's no one to sell to..."

"They'll come soon enough. Right now, all the pioneers are being paid uniform labor compensation. I want you to start as practice."

"Understood. Please count on me."

And so, the alluring widow Shirura's shop, Shirura Mart, was set to open. For the time being, it was a makeshift structure with a mat and a tent in front of the temporary housing, but a proper store would be built soon.

The items were consumables like arrows, but since they were distributed, they wouldn't sell. But everyone knew that. It's just practice for now. Jitaro seems to be enthusiastically bringing in berries from the forest, and dried berries are sold as a luxury item.

Shirura has two children. They help around the village, play energetically, and are lively.

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"Sarinto, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah."

With the completion of the village's fence, Sarinto, who had some free time, was called out.

"Sarinto, you wanted to run an inn, right?"

"Yeah. My father used to run one, and I was supposed to inherit it, but both my parents died from an epidemic..."

That was unfortunate.

"That alone wouldn't be so bad, but various things happened, and I lost the rights to the guild."

"Why do those who take advantage of weaknesses never decrease?"

He must be targeted by unscrupulous merchants amid trouble.

I dislike unfairness.

"That's why I really want to rebuild the inn. It was said to be dangerous, but I volunteered for this pioneering village where I could get the rights to the guild."

"I see. Alright. Let's go all out to make that dream come true!"

"Yeah... Yeah!"

Considering the future, a relatively large inn was built for him. 

The first floor became a pub, and residents who wanted to run a pub moved in.

Thanks to stamina potions, work hours increased significantly, and work efficiency also improved.

Most importantly, the residents' motivation was different.

The development of the village was progressing at a pace beyond imagination.

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